“The goal is to deliver high-quality advice and guidance and
give them support they need to make their goals,” says Alok Prasad, Head of
Merrill Edge. As a division of
Merrill Lynch, Merrill Edge is a part of Bank of America that delivers
investment solutions to clients between $50,000 and $250,000 of investable
assets. Whether it’s for
retirement or planning for education and other milestones, financial planning
can help you each step of the way.

“Special needs families are often overwhelmed with taking
care of a special needs child, and they put planning on the back burner,” says
Ron Cappuccio, a Certified Special Needs Advisor (CSNA) for Merrill Edge. “The first step is to start a
conversation and give us a call.
We walk you through the process.
We try to focus on what is pertinent to special needs families, like
lifestyle planning, going through the different stages of life.”

Merrill Edge is filling a gap that needs to be filled. “Over the last few years, we have had a
number of inquiries from our clients in terms of helping them prepare for their
children’s lives, some of them with special needs,” says Prasad. “We are certified and we understand the
needs of special needs families and are trained on that. It’s not just always about planning for
the special needs, but we want to look at the broader goals families have. It is important that you balance all
these goals.”

What might financial planning entail? “If we’re setting up assets for a
special needs child, there’s increased focus on asset management. Another big item is cash flow and
liability management, making sure there’s enough cash flow to meet the expenses
of the special needs child,” says Cappuccio. “And obviously family protection, making sure that
everything is documented properly, beneficiaries are set up properly, maybe
they need a trust for the benefit of a special needs child.

Planning is often pushed aside for too long, which is a
mistake for special needs families.
Cappuccio points out that “with special needs families, where you have
the expenses of taking care of a special needs child, it’s a big stress point
for families. Some have fewer
assets to spread around.” Many
families feel like they don’t have enough to start planning, but Prasad says
it’s “imperative to start as soon as possible.”

Families can use the Merrill Edge Special Needs calculator
as a starting point. “The special
needs calculator is designed for families to get a sense of the requirements
and high level of what may be needed to support an individual. It helps them understand what it would
entail,” says Prasad. “It’s not a
prescriptive output, and it has to be tailored to the specific family.”

Use the calculator as your starting off point, then make a
call to meet with an advisor who will walk you through the process. Plan to meet with your financial
advisor twice a year, although how often you meet really depends on each
situation. In your meetings,
you’ll likely discuss both short-term and long-term goals for your plan.

“Short-term goals could vary between every financial
situation, and no two special needs families are alike. Short-term goals usually are the cash
flow liability management and making sure there’s adequate cash to meet the
expenses of the child,” says Cappuccio.
“Long-term is essentially make sure there are going to be assets down
the road for that special needs child’s expenses. That’s why there’s a strong focus on portfolio management
and addressing the focus on risk management.”

The main headline is to get started as soon as
possible. “Every day, every week,
every month counts,” urges Prasad.
“There are many Bank of America banking centers where people can be
connected to one of our advisors who can help them. It’s very accessible and easy. We hope that families that have this need will take
advantage of it.” Cappuccio agrees
and says, “The most important part is to give us a call and get that
conversation started.”

Families
interested in learning more about this program can contact a Certified Special
Needs Financial Solutions Advisor at 866.706.8321 or go to merrilledge.com for
help.